In
an extraordinary intervention, Britain’s High Commissioner
to New Zealand, Laura Clarke, fired a public warning shot at
the Labour-led government over its plans to seek a free
trade deal with Russia. Following the Skripal poisoning in
the UK, Clarke successfully pressured NZ to join the
sanctions that Britain and its allies have imposed on
Russia.

War tensions in Europe have spiked as the UK
government has escalated accusations that Moscow attempted
to kill British spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Julia,
on March 4 in Salisbury. European Union (EU) foreign
ministers last week pledged “unqualified solidarity” with the UK in
condemning the “reckless and illegal” poisoning.

The
case hinges on the unsubstantiated assertion that Moscow
targeted the Skripals with a “Novichok”-style nerve
agent “developed” in the former Soviet Union. Britain
expelled 23 Russian diplomats and is promising “further
measures” against the Kremlin.

There are, however,
divisions within European ruling elites over Russia. UK
Prime Minister Theresa May has pressed European leaders to
expel Russian agents, in a bid to dismantle “Kremlin
networks” across Europe. Britain is pushing allies such as
New Zealand—which, along with the UK, is part of the
US-led “Five Eyes” intelligence network—to fall into
line.

Speaking on Radio NZ on March 15, Clarke warned that
efforts to pursue a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Russia
would jeopardise future deals with both the EU and the UK.
Clarke declared that New Zealand had to “prioritise” its
FTAs, and trade negotiations with the EU and UK “never
happen in a vacuum.”

The high commissioner earlier
invited a group of selected journalists to a private
briefing on the issue. According to journalist Richard
Harman’s POLITIK web site, the meeting was intended to
“soften up New Zealand public opinion to join in any
sanctions Britain might try and impose on Russia.” Harman
concluded that “the British felt they needed to make a
strong case in Wellington.”

The day after Clarke’s
radio interview, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced
that the government had rescinded moves to restart trade
talks with Russia. The government had intended to resume the
talks, which were suspended in 2014 over the annexation of
Crimea.

Ardern said “the situation [with Russia] has
changed.” She and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters
now agree that efforts to restart negotiations should be
suspended. Ardern added that “in the light of the
Salisbury incident” she did not know when, or if, the
government would be in a position to resume trade
talks.

Ardern supported the joint statements by British,
US, German and French leaders on the nerve agent attack.
“Outrage at the brazen and callous use of chemical weapons
in a UK town is fully justified,” Ardern declared. She
agreed with the British government’s claims that there was
“no plausible explanation” the attack could have come
from “anywhere other than Russia” and Russia had
“serious questions to answer.”

The about-face came
after months during which Peters, who is also deputy prime
minister and leader of the right-wing New Zealand First
Party, had reiterated his plans to develop Russian trade. He
claimed this was necessary to reduce New Zealand’s
economic reliance on China, the country’s second most
important trading partner. A commitment to pursue a FTA with
the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union was included in
NZ First’s coalition agreement with Labour following last
September’s election.

In a television program on March
10, Peters declared New Zealand was “deadly serious”
about a free trade deal and defended Russia. He said there
was “no evidence” Russia had a hand in shooting down
flight MH17 over the Ukraine or that it meddled in the US
election. “We have a lot of allegations, but we do not
have the facts laid out clearly,” he said. “When you
start talking about those moral judgments, you might not be
trading with anybody,” Peters added.

Ardern downplayed
Peters’ comments, telling the media he was simply making
the point that other countries had been trading around
sanctions applied to Russia, and New Zealand deserved
“fair access relative to other countries.” She declared
that a free trade deal with the EU had always been New
Zealand’s “top priority.”

Clearly, there are
tensions between Labour and NZ First. Dominion Post
political reporter Stacey Kirk wrote on March 18 that it
took Ardern “more than a week to pull rank on her foreign
minister and suspend efforts to restart trade talks with
Russia.”

According to Kirk, once Britain’s ultimatum
to New Zealand was “black and white,” Peters finally put
out his own strongly-worded statement condemning the
chemical attack, calling it “repugnant.” He said NZ
shared the concerns expressed by other nations and he would
continue to “consult with the UK and other
partners.”

The move to join the build-up to war against
Russia follows Ardern’s statement in November that New
Zealand was prepared to support a US attack on North Korea, and an
intensifying anti-Chinese campaign by the government and
intelligence agencies.

The Labour-NZ First coalition
government was formed following US ambassador Scott
Brown’s public intervention after last September’s
election. Brown criticised the previous National Party
government for failing to fully endorse Trump’s threat to
annihilate North Korea, and indicated that Washington wanted
greater NZ support for its build-up to war against
China.

Ardern’s pro-war stance against China, Russia and
North Korea exposes the fraud perpetrated by a layer of
petty bourgeois “peace” groups, pro-Labour commentators
such as the Daily Blog and pseudo-left outfits like the
International Socialist Organisation, that the new
government represents a progressive alternative to
National.

While anti-war sentiment has strong traditions
within the working class, the ruling class in New Zealand, a
minor imperialist power, always has been ready to join the
major powers in inter-imperialist wars and neo-colonial
military ventures. The alliance with Britain, the US and
Australia is the quid pro quo for their support for New
Zealand’s own neo-colonial operations in the Pacific
region.

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